Re: [Pen-l] the Obama movement

["Julio Huato" <juliohuato@xxxxxxxxx>]

Jim wrote:

> I guess it's a consumerist model
> of politics, with the participants
> playing the role of consumers of
> a product offered by the entrepreneurial
> move-on.org leadership.

Actually, IMO, the consumerist attitude is yours.  You imply that it
is up to somebody else to offer us, politically agnostic smartasses,
*the* adequate political instrument, *the* political instrument that
meets our oh-so-lofty standards.  But it is not.  People who take the
political initiative can only create tools that fit their view of the
world, tools that one way or another reflect their interest.  They
don't have to cater to us.  That attitude -- passivity, alienation --
is the problem, not the solution.  If Jim or anyone of us can create
something better than Move On, the SWP, or whathaveyou, what is
keeping us from creating it?  If we can't, then why is fence sitting
and snipping better than using what it's out there?  The consumer
attitude is, prove to me that your product is good.  The producer
attitude is, I'll use it if it helps me.  And, if it's broken, I'll
fix it or create a new one to replace it.  We have a choice, we can
use the available political instruments as they are, learn from them,
try to perfect them as we go along, or -- if we are ready for that --
we can try and create new and better political instruments.
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